


He'll Warm Up... Eventually

by SnowBlizzard



Series: TimDami One-shots [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alfred the Cat hates Tim, Cats, Damian Wayne loves his cat, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Tim Drake-centric, with a burning passion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29361765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowBlizzard/pseuds/SnowBlizzard
Summary: When Damian moves in with his boyfriend, Tim, his cat comes with.The only problem being that Alfred the Cat hates Tim more than anything.
Relationships: Alfred the Cat & Tim Drake, Tim Drake/Damian Wayne
Series: TimDami One-shots [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2114445
Comments: 3
Kudos: 108





	He'll Warm Up... Eventually

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something I wrote between working on my chapter fics.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! <3 ^^

Tim likes living with Damian, though it’s a fairly new thing. It’s been about a week since he moved in and Tim feels like it’s a good thing for both of them. Damian’s calmer when Tim’s beside him, which is now more often than not and Tim feels better, less lonely, when he knows that every evening, Damian will come home to him.

But-- that’s a bit of an issue, not the fact that Damian works, no. It’s the fact that Tim works at home and Damian has a cat. A cat who despises Tim, no matter how much he tries. 

Here’s the issue, in more detail; when Damian leaves for work in the morning, Alfred the cat starts yelling immediately, wishing him to return. Tim groans, getting up and closing their bedroom door to drown out the noise, it never works.

Then he gets up, gets ready for the day and starts on his work assignments, during which Alfred grows bored. Apparently he’s gotten a love for curling over his keyboard, causing him to write complete gibberish instead of the codes he’s supposed to write. Alfred looks content, so Tim always feels a little bad provoking him to move, well, until the cat hisses at him and scrambles off on his own. 

Tim shrugs, letting it be, until an hour passes and he has to feed him. Alfred hates him, and he’s not even sure what he’s done. He’s followed Damian’s instructions for what to do and what to not, yet even as he feeds Alfred he’s hissed at until he leaves. 

When Damian arrives, Alfred’s as cuddly as ever, purring softly and rubbing up against his legs. Tim splutters. “Something is wrong with your cat,” he says one evening while they’re having dinner.

“Alfred?” Damian questions, frowning. “Alfred is in perfect health, I make sure of it.”

“He hates me,” Tim says, maybe sulking a little.

Damian chuckles, “not everyone can like you. He will warm up, eventually.”

Tim hopes.

-

Then there’s the time where Alfred almost rips his eye out. Damian’s holding him up, hands under his front legs. Alfred doesn’t look mad, until Damian tells Tim to try petting him. The cat growls as Tim gets closer, but Damian persists. “He’ll get used to you.”

He hasn’t even touched Alfred’s fur and yet the cat brings up a paw, claws out, and scratches him in the eye. Tim stumbles back, holding his hand over his eyes as Damian frowns, putting down the cat and letting out a “bad Alfred!” before going over to check if Tim’s okay. Alfred makes a run for the other side of the apartment. 

“Here,” Damian takes the hand that Tim’s holding over his eye in his, “let me see.” Damian’s frowning deeply as he inspects the cuts on Tim’s face. Tim can feel blood pouring rapidly down his face, vision in his right eye a little blurry. “It did not cut your eye, but it was not far off.” Damian says. “I’ll get some supplies.”

Tim guesses this is his way of saying sorry, because Damian can never say sorry like a normal person. After big fights, he always miraculously finds the apartment spotless. Tim just says sorry like a normal person, but he’s gotten used to Damian being especially close when he’s apologizing for something.

In the end, he gets a scar just beside the conjunctiva of his right eye, right by where his upper and lower lashes meet. It’s small but stretches a little less than an inch, almost looking like he has pink-ish winged eyeliner on.

Damian cuddles him extra close that night, kissing him sweetly all over, probably as another form of apology. 

Well, if Alfred wants to hate him, Tim will hate him right back.

-

The next morning, as Alfred growls at him while he’s pouring him food, Tim (albeit in a bit of a childish manner) sticks his tongue out at him.

Damian doesn’t try to make them get along after that, though he still makes sure that Alfred gets the proper attention he needs, and sometimes Tim will find them cuddled up on the couch or beside him in bed.

-

Alfred gets sick, it’s not serious or anything, but Tim didn’t even know that cats could catch a cold. It makes him more dependent on Damian, never wanting to leave him alone. Problem is, Damian still has to work.

So Tim’s left alone the devil-cat. Alfred’s still cautious around him, but he seems to value his life in case anything happens and stays close, never letting Tim go off on his own. Damian had also mentioned that he couldn’t allow Alfred to be left alone in case he needed help coughing or if his condition worsened.

So Tim could deal with having him sitting on his desk while he typed away, even if the unwavering, suspicious stare was a little distracting. He could deal with Alfred hissing at him when he once again poured him food, despite being forced to sit closeby. The hardest part, however, was using the bathroom.

Having someone stare at you while you’re taking a number two is oddly hard, and it takes a lot longer than it should. 

Tim follows every instruction Damian’s given him, wrapping the cat in two blankets when he sneezes, even if it gets him a scratch to the hand. He pets his back while Alfred coughs, even if Alfred immediately hisses at him once he’s done coughing. 

In the end, it goes fine. The cold disappears after two days and they go back to rightfully ignoring each other, except for when Alfred needs food that is.

-

Tim can hear Alfred coughing from the kitchen, and thinks nothing special of it. Cats, like humans, cough. He found that out when Damian looked at him like he was stupid for suggesting Alfred was sick again when he coughed a few weeks ago. 

But this time, it doesn’t stop. Actually, it seems like it’s getting worse, the coughs being choked out. 

Tim panics, runs out into the kitchen to find Alfred trying to spit something up desperately. It seems like he can’t get any air down his lungs and Tim panics harder. He doesn’t think the heimlich maneuver works on cats, but he does know what Jason did for him once while he was choking on a piece of bacon. 

He’s stressed, worried sick and yeah, maybe he slaps the cat’s back  _ a bit _ too hard, but it works. Alfred makes a “puuuuuuah” sound and a tiny, red ball is forced out of his throat and onto the floor. Alfred lies down fully on the floor, panting from exhaustion. 

Tim forgets they’re supposed to hate each other and strokes him wherever he can reach, over his ears, down his back (at which Alfred lets out a small pained sound, and yeah, Tim definitely hit him too hard). Even as he’s caught his breath and stood up, Alfred allows it. He doesn’t purr or rub against his legs like he does Damian, but he does keep close to Tim, even allowing it when he’s picked up and put on the couch next to him. 

After a quick google search (because Tim’s feeling a little guilty about hurting him, even if it was to save his life) he finds that Alfred will heal on his own and if he doesn’t he should bring it up to a vet. 

It’s during this research that Alfred, seemingly still a little shaken and scared, crawls into his lap. He’s still not purring, and doesn’t want Tim to touch him, but he doesn’t want to be alone. Tim gets it, so he lets him lie there until Damian comes home with a raised eyebrow.

“You two seem to be getting along,” he remarks. 

Tim half-smiles, “he choked on one of our fridge magnets.”

Damian’s eyes go wide, “and you did not call me?” In a matter of seconds he’s next to Tim, pulling Alfred up and into his own lap, squeezing him to the point where Alfred grows annoyed. 

“He coughed it up, with a little help, I thought it was unnecessary. He’s fine now, he was a little shaken in the beginning.” Damian lets go of Alfred for a short second, only to hug Tim.

“Thank you.”

-

Alfred will probably never like him, whatever, as long as he can tolerate Tim being near. And it seems like he does, even purring and rubbing up against his legs when Tim feeds him during the day. But otherwise he usually keeps his distance, only every once in awhile wanting Tim to throw a toy or sleeps on his desk while Tim works, just to have that company. 

Tim doesn’t try to force it, that’s just general advice when it comes to cats- don’t force them to like you. And he’s fine with it. 

Hell, he’s more than fine with it when Alfred hops up their bed during the night to sleep between him and Damian, not only on Damian’s side like he always did before. 

And honestly, Tim doesn’t think he can be blamed if he feeds him a few extra treats just so he’ll get to pet him fully. Alfred’s just happy if he gets his treats, so Tim thinks it’s okay. 

Even if Damian accuses him of trying to make his cat fat.


End file.
